It's truly a shame that the board won't bend or give in this situation. Yet a single prisoner can get all kinds of "special" treatment if they protest loud enough.One of the best girls soccer teams in Western New York, and possibly the state, will not get to participate in the forthcoming regional playoffs. While one might assume the reason for such a ban would be related to poor conduct on or off the field, the Holland (N.Y.) High girls soccer team had no such issues.
A members of the Holland team are allegedly more likely to be found in a voluntary study hall than drinking or getting in trouble on the weekends -- no members of the team have spent any part of any school day in detention -- and the squad somehow completed an entire regular season without picking up a single yellow card.Yet, despite all those positives and Holland's impressive 15-2 record, the Dutchwomen won't be playing in the regional playoffs for a rather odd and almost indefensible reason: They played in one game too many.
Yes, you read that right: New York state officials are refusing to allow Holland to compete in any level of the state playoffs because the Dutchwomen played in 17 games. According to the Buffalo News and Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ, 2-year-old state regulations call for teams to play only 16 games or fewer in their regular season, and any team which goes beyond those restrictions is deemed ineligible for state competition.
The move to restrict all varsity schedules to 16 games came as a pure cost-cutting measure by New York state officials, so Holland's scheduling of 17 games did little beyond offend the fiscal sensibilities of state athletics administrators.There is no question that Holland played in a game too many, but the mistake was chalked up to unfortunate oversights by members of the Holland High School athletic department. When the school's athletic department then petitioned the New York State Public High School Athletic Association to overturn the Dutchwomen's postseason ban, that appeal was summarily denied in a teleconference on Tuesday. While a Facebook page set up by supporters of the team has gained nearly 1,000 "likes," that couldn't help sway state officials.
I understand rules are rules adn that they must be followed and respected, I feel this is a terrible way of forcing the team to suffer for someone else's mistake. I mean, it is one thing if the girls had disciplinary actions, but this is completely different. ANd what's worse is that if this rule was passed merely to save money and no case by case evaluations are looked at, then the government has gone too far. Unfortunately, the girls are learning a hard lesson. With obama and the libs, those who suffer punishment are the ones who work their tails off but don't get to enjoy the fruit of ther own labor because it isn't fair to someone else.
Yes, you read that right: New York state officials are refusing to allow Holland to compete in any level of the state playoffs because the Dutchwomen played in 17 games. According to the Buffalo News and Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ, 2-year-old state regulations call for teams to play only 16 games or fewer in their regular season, and any team which goes beyond those restrictions is deemed ineligible for state competition.
The move to restrict all varsity schedules to 16 games came as a pure cost-cutting measure by New York state officials, so Holland's scheduling of 17 games did little beyond offend the fiscal sensibilities of state athletics administrators.There is no question that Holland played in a game too many, but the mistake was chalked up to unfortunate oversights by members of the Holland High School athletic department. When the school's athletic department then petitioned the New York State Public High School Athletic Association to overturn the Dutchwomen's postseason ban, that appeal was summarily denied in a teleconference on Tuesday. While a Facebook page set up by supporters of the team has gained nearly 1,000 "likes," that couldn't help sway state officials.
I understand rules are rules adn that they must be followed and respected, I feel this is a terrible way of forcing the team to suffer for someone else's mistake. I mean, it is one thing if the girls had disciplinary actions, but this is completely different. ANd what's worse is that if this rule was passed merely to save money and no case by case evaluations are looked at, then the government has gone too far. Unfortunately, the girls are learning a hard lesson. With obama and the libs, those who suffer punishment are the ones who work their tails off but don't get to enjoy the fruit of ther own labor because it isn't fair to someone else.
